Home of Richard Mitchell – XPO Game Festival Project Lead & Head of Tulsa Game Developers – Working to boost Tulsa, OK's tech & game dev industries. Former Reviews Editor at Joystiq (RIP). Member of the Oregon Trail Generation.

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Hello there, and welcome. I’m Richard Mitchell, and I’ve spent my career moving through different areas of the video game industry and, more recently, the world of program development. From 2006 through early 2015, I wrote for beloved website Joystiq.com, where I eventually became reviews editor. Now, I’m working to expand STEM education opportunities and to build the video game and tech industries in my hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. You’ll find my thoughts and opinions on this page, as well as links to some of the work I do around Tulsa. If you want to support or be a part of it, let me know!

Blog

Michael Pachter stood in his office. It was a large, well-appointed room, something any professional might aspire to. The shelves (mahogany) lining the northern wall were filled with books. Tomes on law and business, of course, but mostly books on the ever growing video game industry. Michael was proud of his collection, and prouder still …

Yes, it’s been nearly two years since I’ve written a post here. I won’t bother you by saying I’m going to try to increase post frequency. I mean… I am, but let’s not make promises. It’s been a rough and tumble two years, what with Joystiq collapsing without warning. Thankfully, I was scooped up by …

I first saved an empty draft of this post in April of 2014. I was approaching the beginning of my eighth year with Joystiq and reflecting on everything I’ve done in what once seemed like an impossible career.

If you’ve been keeping up with the (admittedly insular) world of video game news, you’ll know that quite a lot has changed in the intervening months. Joystiq, as it was, no longer exists. I can’t say that I’m grateful for its closure, though that hasn’t blunted my gratitude for all that Joystiq has brought me. When I was 23, it enabled me to earn a living doing something I loved, a privilege that very few get to enjoy. The job was always just a job though. Certainly I loved it, but, as I’ve written elsewhere, I try not to define myself by what I do. It’s easy to conflate work, hobbies and passions with self-identity, but I think people are a much more appropriate measurement. In that regard, I am extraordinarily wealthy. Joystiq has introduced me to some of the most wonderful people a person could meet, many of whom I’m fortunate enough to call my friends. I’m eternally grateful to everyone I’ve worked with at Joystiq.

XPO Game Festival

In 2016, I organized the content for the inaugural XPO Game Festival in Tulsa, which attracted nearly 2,000 visitors.

We’re always looking for video game industry guests and talented indie studios to showcase their work and speak on panels. XPO 2016 featured guests from Epic Games, Boss Key Productions, Daybreak Game Company, GamesRadar+, Polygon, thatgamecompany and more. Our Indie Alley included studios that have been showcased at conventions like PAX and have been featured by major publishers during their on-stage presentations at E3. Contact me if you want to take part!

Tulsa Game Developers

Tulsa Game Developers was founded on January 27th, 2015, when a group of brave souls gathered at Lucky’s on the Green to talk about the game development scene in Tulsa. After one year, our Facebook group has over 100 members, and we’re about to embark on our first Global Game Jam. Our goal is to build a thriving independent game development scene in our beloved city, and we’re well on our way! In 2017, we hope to shepherd one of our Global Game Jam Tulsa projects through the publishing process. If you’d like to get involved, we meet every third Thursday at 7:00pm 36° North in downtown Tulsa. Register for Tulsa Game Developers on Meetup.com!

Find Me

I am an accomplished writer and editor, with over ten years experience in management, video and audio production. I am a dedicated communications professional within the technology and video games industries. I am experienced in program development, event planning and community organizing. For the past three years, I’ve organized multiple STEM workshops to teach baseline development concepts to students and adults in Tulsa.

I’m working to elevate the tech and video game development communities in and around Tulsa. If you’d like to be involved in XPO (we are capable of covering travel costs) or want to talk about video game development in the midwest, please don’t hesitate to contact me. The most reliable way to get my attention is probably Twitter (@TheRichardM), or you can email richard [at] XPOTulsa [dot] com.